Grammy-Nominated Singer Fatally Stabbed at Home in Santa Monica; Son Arrested

Grammy-nominated opera singer Jubilant Sykes was fatally stabbed inside his Santa Monica residence late Monday, and his 31-year-old son has been arrested in connection with the killing, according to authorities, as reported by The New York Post.

Police said Sykes’ wife called 911 at approximately 9:19 p.m. to report witnessing an assault involving their son at their home on Delaware Avenue near 18th Street in the Pico neighborhood.

Grammy-nominated Opera Singer Jubilant Sykes was stabbed to death at his home in Santa Monica, California, and his Son was arrested on suspicion of murder. pic.twitter.com/qnE66bhLBo

— Trenches and City Updates (@TrenchesAndCity) December 9, 2025

Santa Monica Police Lt. Lewis Gilmour said officers entered the home and found Sykes, 71, suffering from significant injuries.

Personnel from the Santa Monica Fire Department pronounced him dead at the scene. Police arrested Sykes’ son, Micah Sykes, at the home.

He was booked on a homicide charge, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will determine additional charges. Neighbors and police said Micah had a history of mental illness.

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“Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe this was an isolated incident contained within the household,” Gilmour said. The investigation remains active.

Neighbors described Sykes as a respected and well-liked member of the community.

One longtime tenant who lived in a unit owned by Sykes for 20 years said, “It’s just devastating. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.”

The neighbor described Sykes as “cool people,” adding that “Jubilant wasn’t the type to argue.” The tenant said Micah lived with his parents but spent most of his time in the garage, often playing loud music.

I’ll never forget the very first time I heard Jubilant Sykes sing in person at my first @shepconf in 2019. There was/is NOTHING like it.

An incredibly kind man who loved Christ, and worshipped Him with voice of pure GOLD!

Please join me in praying for his family, friends, and… pic.twitter.com/Zzzwo6UgOY

— Chris Huff (@ChrisHuff) December 9, 2025

“He was a little weird,” the neighbor said, adding there were signs something “mentally was not there.”

The neighbor recalled an incident in which Micah was found lying on the street at night, saying, “Like something — something was not right. But he [Jubilant] even warned me about it.”

The tenant said he did not understand the warning at the time, but later noticed significant behavioral issues.

Members of Calvary Baptist Church, where Sykes and his family attended, expressed shock following the news. Pam Forbes Clayton, a church member, said the congregation and wider community were grieving.

“He is so well known all around. People are calling me now, just crying,” Clayton said. She explained that despite Sykes’ international success, he remained connected to his roots.

“They stayed in the community. He was doing things throughout the world — throughout the world — but never forgot where he came from.”

Clayton said Sykes frequently returned to sing at his home church. “Anytime I called on him to come and sing at the church, because that’s his home church, he would come,” she said.

In a previous interview with The Post, Sykes described his musical upbringing and the guidance he received from his parents.

“It’s like my dad says, ‘Jubilant, the goal is to sing, to communicate,’” he said. He recalled discovering his musical path in sixth grade after joining the boys’ choir and shifting from piano lessons to reading music and singing.

Sykes, raised in Los Angeles, began as a soprano before launching a career that took him to major venues worldwide.

He performed with artists including Christopher Parkening and appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Apollo Theater, the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center, London’s Barbican Centre, and the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

In 2009, he performed the role of the Celebrant in a Grammy-nominated recording of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, produced with the Morgan State University Choir and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop for Naxos Records.

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